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Bistec Encebollado

Puerto Rico

A comforting, homey dish made of braised steak and onions

SUBMITTED BY

Dalitza

During my “In Memory Of” series, I was lucky enough to learn about a new dish called bistec encebollado. Made from thin steak slices boiled with vinegar and oil and cooked onions, this flavorful dish is often served with rice. With intense beef flavor and unique cooking methods, this sought-after recipe stands out. 

This specific bistec encebollado recipe comes from Dalitza from Puerto Rico. Though she now lives in Florida, she has distinct memories of her Abuela Ching caring for her and her siblings well into high school. As an immaculate housewife, mother, and cook, Abuela Ching often made delicious Puerto Rican meals for her family. One of Dalitza’s favorite dishes was bistec encebollado, but since Abuela Ching never wrote down any recipes, her memories with her grandmother were all she had for a while. After many attempts by Dalitza to recreate this recipe, she cried tears of joy when she finally bit into a perfect replica of Abuela Ching’s bistec encebollado. And she has now shared this succulent recipe with all of us! 

This was a calming cooking process with a long simmering process. The unique cooking technique of frying meat in vinegar produced a super flavorful steak that breaks apart easily and melds together beautifully with the soft, beefy onions. With flavors reminiscent of French onion soup, this sweet yet savory dish is a lovely comfort meal.  

Although Abuela Ching cooked by eye and never measured anything, I highly recommend you follow this recipe to produce the exact meal that brings Dalitza so much solace. The flavors and textures may well be new to you, but the ingredients are attainable and the cooking process isn’t difficult. 

 During the lengthy simmering time, Dalitza reflects on her grandma, recalling their memories together and processing her grief. I think this is a beautiful way to honor Abuela Ching’s legacy. Next time you cook, use the cooking time to reflect on someone the dish reminds you of. When you sit down to eat, you are keeping this person alive in a beautiful way. Thank you to Dalitza for her guidance in memorializing those we love through food. 

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Bistec Encebollado

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Ingredients
  

  • 1 pack minute/cube steaks (see note)
  • Goya adobo seasoning with pepper 
  • 1 Tbsp minced garlic
  • 1 Tbsp olive oil
  • 4 Tbsp white vinegar
  • 2 Tbsp vegetable oil
  • 1 yellow or white onion

Instructions
 

Marinade

  • The night before marinate the bistec by liberally seasoning each bistec with adobo and brushing the minced garlic onto both sides. Coat evenly with the olive oil and half the vinegar and refrigerate in tupperware. 

To cook

  • Cut the onion into thin rounds, set aside.
  • Add the rest of the vinegar and the vegetable oil to a large pan. You want the vinegar/oil mixture to cover most of the bottom of the pan.
  • Quickly sear both sides of the steak in high heat, then add a little water and a couple of onion rounds (these will melt and flavor the broth, we will add the rest later.) For the water it depends on the pan, but about a third of a cup should do. Just enough to fully cover the bottom  of the pan, but we don't want to completely submerge the steaks. 
  • Lower the temperature to med-low, cover and simmer for 15 minutes. After 15 minutes flip the steaks and check for salt content in the broth. The water should not evaporate too much that the broth is too salty or there is no broth at all. If needed, you can add more water or more adobo throughout. Cover and cook for 15 more minutes, then flip and check broth again. Then one more 15 minute cook, totaling 45 minutes. 
  • At 45 minutes you should add the rest of the onions. Try to shove them under the steaks so they can be cooked by the broth. Cook covered for about 10-15 minutes until onions are soft and translucent.
  • Serve with medium grain white rice and spoon lots of broth and onion on top of the rice!

Notes

Note: Minute/cube steak is already supposed to be tenderized, but the meat shrinks substantially as it cooks, so if you have a meat tenderizer at home to pound them out thin so they cook best in the shallow broth you will create.
Course: Dinner
Diet: Gluten Free
Keyword: Comfort food

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